


Kismet

by orphan_account



Series: Alaria [1]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, M/M, Magic, Mystery, Parent Death, Pirates, Rebellion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 19:41:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15396000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They were apart of different worlds that never should have collided with each other.One was a pirate captain who was protective of her crew. The other was a general in a rebellion, trying to save her people from being enslaved.They should have never met, but they did.Now, they have to fight side-by-side to survive their deal with one another.Even if they don't trust each other.Warning: mature themes





	1. Prologue

**Part 1:**

            Azar was fighting, cackling and laughing as she dodged the purple-haired girl’s strikes. She was so focused that she didn’t notice the brunette about to attack her from behind.

            “Azar!”

            A shout.

            And then a thump.

            “Kendi?” Azar asked while turning around, dropping her sword to the ground and not even noticing the attacks stop.

            Her sister fell to her knees, a vertical slash on her chest gushing so much blood-

            Too much blood.

            She’s dying.

            Her sister’s beautiful white wings collapsing as she fell to her knees, coughing with blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth.

            “Kendi?”

            Azar dropped to her knees, kneeling in front of her older twin while cupping her face.

            The world falls silent.

            Kendria smiled, gently caressing her twin’s face while painfully wrapping her wings around the two of them.

            Shielding them from the horrors of reality.

            “Kendi?”

            Kendria slowly- ever so slowly- wiped away Azar’s silent tears, shushing away her fears as if they were little kids again.

            Her eyes widened and she gasped, her hand falling away as she collapsed, another slash appearing on her back from the brunette’s scythe.

            “Kendi?”

            A whisper.

            Her beautiful, pure, white wings spread out underneath her.

            Feathers falling around her, floating on a non-existent wind.

            “I’m sorry, my sister.”

            A heartbeat stopped.

            Her wide unseeing eyes stared into the abyss, stared into nothingness and didn’t look back.

            Silence.

            A quiet battlefield.

“Kendi!”

The scream echoed throughout.

The twang of a bow string.

“No!”

Azar kneeled, unseeing, unknowing as she focused her sister’s pale face.

The clang of a sword deflecting an arrow.

The slash stopped oozing blood as her chest stopped moving.

“What are you doing?”

“Sky!”

Azar looked up to see long purple hair and a flowing blue coat.

“She just lost her entire world.”

A theat.

Complaints.

Azar looked back down, focusing on her sister’s still body.

She moved, grabbing those pure, white wings and wrapped herself in them as if she was a little kid again and Kendria was comforting her from another nightmare.

Clear, crystal tears fell silently.

Too horrified to make any sound.

“Azar Abbadonato.”

She moved the wings, tears still apparent on her face.

A look of sympathy.

And empathy.

“I swear on my ship, your sister will have a proper burial. That more than what most of my own family had gotten.”

Azar nodded, setting those pure, white wings on the ground.

She closed Kendria’s eyes.

Those unseeing eyes.

Azar closed her own eyes, turning to face the other girl.

“Call me Sky.”

The purple-haired girl gave her a pained smile along with those words.

 

**Part 2:**

 

            It was a busy day at the Avaleon harbor, with the Festival of Light coming up and every civilian pitching in to make sure the Festival started on time. The Fancy had docked at the port city to restock on supplies before they made the journey to Zekra. Jay had decided that this was the perfect time to get Sky some new clothes, since she thought that most clothes sold in Zekra were too ‘floaty’; Sky may prefer Lazarith clothes over all because they provided women with pants, but Avaleon was a close second.

            Jay’s little teal hair was tied back in a braid and his bright teal eyes shined vividly in the daylight. Sky, though, had her own purple hair tied back into tight bun while her own shimmering silver eyes watched everything impassively. They both had dark tans from being in the sun almost all day and while they may look nothing alike, they had a close bond with each other.

            “Do you see a clothes store? I can’t exactly remember when I last got you clothes in Avaleon instead of Lazarith.” Jay remarked, keeping a close eye on Sky.

            The crowds were thick with everyone rushing around with a sense of purpose. The heat wore on everyone, making everyone move sluggish even if they moved liked they had something to do. The smell of freshly baked goods didn’t help, when they walked by the stand Jay heard both his and Sky’s stomachs growl.

            “I can’t see a damn thing.” Sky grumbled, crossing her arms in frustration.

            Her black coat was giant on her shoulders, slightly slipping as she pulled it back up each time. Jay mentally chuckled at how cute the small girl looked in the over-sized coat, smart enough to know not to do it out loud because he still wants his knee caps intact.

            “Language.” Jay chided, smiling at the small girl’s cussing.

            He may have only saved the girl from slavery a year ago, she had grown on him with her jaded edges and subtle concern. While she may act like a huge jerk to everyone, she did care about her few select people.

            Jay picked Sky up and before she could react, placed her on his shoulders so that she could see where they were going. He straightened himself out as Sky adjusted herself on his shoulders while grumbling lightly.

            “Better?” He asked, hoping that she saw the way out of this mess.

            “Nope.” Sky shot back, kicking him lightly in the direction of where they needed to go.

            He felt slightly insulted, he knows that he wasn’t tall but he was average and not short!

            “Be nice.” Jay chided, lightly smacking her on the leg as he followed her directions.

            Unaware to him, Sky had smiled softly at his comment but he smiled himself when he felt Sky rest her head on his own head. The two walked in silence, finally extracting themselves out of the crowd Jay still couldn’t find a clothes store.

            “How about some food?” Jay asked his guide, patting her shin.

            “Sugar rolls.” Sky replied, her eyes droopy from being in the heat for over two hours and this being her first day on land for over a month.

            “Sure, let’s go back to that stand. Maybe we can even ask the baker if they know where a clothes store is.” Jay said, walking back in the direction of where they first came from.

 

**Part 3:**

 

            She opened her eyes, expecting to face the raven goddess twins.

            Yacem and Haras.

            Twins that guided you in the afterworld: Haras would try to trick you to stray from the path while Yacem will guide you straight and true, but they were identical.

            At least, that was what was in the legend.

            She opened her eyes.

            She saw a pristine, white ballroom where the women wore glimmering, golden gowns and the men wore golden suits that gleamed in a non-existent light. Right in the middle of the room, there stood a pitch-black throne that sat upon a dais.

            The King opened one eyes, revealing a blue colder than the Zakaran Sea. He smirked, the grin was sharp with no warmth.

            “You’re not supposed to be here, Miss. Augustina.”

            She shivered, the air was frosty upon her pale skin.

            The King snapped his fingers, the ladies and gentlemen vanishing into the air as if they never existed.

            He left one, though.

            A tall man with hair like Sky’s-

            Wait, Sky? Who was she?

            While a golden mask covered his eyes.

            It had been a masquerade ball for the dead.

            _She was dead._

 _Murdered,_ but by who?

            A flash of wild red hair and a crazy grin.

            _“You can’t protect them.”_

_“I can try.”_

The King sat up straight, removing his legs from the armrest.

“You’re a warrior, Kyleigh Augustina.’

A warrior?

“And you tried to save them.’

Who is them?

“For that, I will give you your memories of your past life.”

Past life?

“Come here, child.”

Her feet moved without her knowing.

She kneeled before The King.

The man nodded to her, his eyes glittering the same color of his mask.

She trembled as The King gently touched her forehead.

She waited.

It was a moment.

And another moment.

And another-

Blonde hair and icy blue eyes.

_“They broke me, Kyleigh!”_

Her home being ravaged by invaders, paying no mind to the destruction they caused to the village.

War.

_“I am General Augustina of the Fourth Battalion.”_

Becoming the Mistress of Death.

The rat that traded his people for new citizenship.

A friend with glowing silver eyes.

_“I trust you, Ky.”_

The Maniac.

_“Welcome to the Maniac, Lady Augustina.”_

Her Quest.

Her death.

_“Kyleigh!”_

_“She’ll get cold.”_

She gasped, taking a breath for the first time since she first entered that throne room.


	2. Chapter 1

**~Kyleigh Augustina~**

 

          The Mystery was a big brig, lavish in design but lacking in attack ability; there wasn’t even enough crew to fill the entire ship. It flew a black and red flag that represented it as a Malzaran Trader ship, even if they didn’t capture slaves as often as other ships in the navy. Its captain was a man born into a luxurious life, who grew crazed when his luxury was taken from him and became a slaver to get his luxury back.

            His name was Azazel Samara.

            “Ship approaching!” yelled the man who stood in the crow’s nest, an eyeglass on his eye as he looked ahead.

            Kyleigh sighed, furiously scrubbing at one spot where a brown stain couldn’t- or wouldn’t- come out. She knew she shouldn’t have punched Bronne but he had that gleam in his eyes that she hated because she whenever she saw it, all she could see was the flames and fire.

            _The death, the horror of watching her village burn down along with her friends who couldn’t get out._

_The smell of burning flesh stung her nose._

_The screams of people being burned alive or being taken as slaves rung in her ears._

_The man coming closer with the sick gleam in his eyes-_

            “Augustina!” she was pushed out of her memories, and realized the first mate stood in front of her, “Don’t stop scrubbing!”

            “Yes, Calvin.”

            She went back to mopping, ignoring the cat calls from the crew and the memories that haunted her every step.

            “What flag is the ship under?” Calvin asked Bronne, the man in the crow’s nest.

            Kyleigh stilled before getting back to work as she listened to the private conversation silently.

            “Unclear, but it appears to be blue on black.” Bronne reported, on the deck but still looking through his eyeglass.

            “I’ll get the captain up here, it might be The Mistress.” Calvin stated, rubbing his beard thoughtfully.

            “Mistress of the Seven Seas?” Bronne whispered, putting his eyeglass down to stare at Calvin in shock as he nodded silently before walking towards the Captain’s cabin, not noticing how Kyleigh had stilled.

            The Mistress of the Seven Seas was a legend that Kyleigh had heard whispers about various times throughout her very short career as a sailor. The Mistress was apparently an immortal sailor who sailed the seas with her crew of pirates or she was a protector of the innocent; the stories weren’t always accurate.

            “You heard it, too?” Kyleigh silently scowled at her brother’s voice.

            Her brother had been on The Mystery longer then Kyleigh did for about a few years. He left a bright blue-eyed boy with short black hair and shining eyes, he returned with dull eyes and shaggy white hair. She never knew what happened to her older brother while he was away, but she never really did want to know since a part of her always hated her brother for leaving.

            She nodded, getting back to work just so that she didn’t have to talk to him and hopefully get on his nerves.

            She heard him sigh, “Kyleigh-”

            He was interrupted by the captain of the ship, Azazel.

            “What is this about a legend?” he thundered, walking onto the deck as Calvin followed behind.

            Captain Azazel Samara had lived a life a luxury and it showed, he wore nothing less than the finest quality of fabric. He was well fed, compared to him the rest of the crew looked like skeletons. He had a different whore in his room every night when they docked, Kyleigh felt sorry for the women that had to pleasure that pig.

            “Captain Samara, I spotted a ship far off that appears to be flying a blue on black flag.” Bronne reported, the bruise apparent on his cheek.

            Kyleigh smirked even wider at that bruise, he deserved it for smacking her on the ass while making suggestive comments. He was shocked when she had enough, turned around and punched him right in the nose.

            “Probably just some pillagers trying to scare up some pray.” Azazel dismissed, “Keep on course.”

            He turned to head back to his cabin and finish his lavish meal of meat and win when he caught sight of Kyleigh mopping. He looked down and admired the view, completely ignoring the fact that Kyleigh had stopped and had the mop clenched tight in her hand, the wood digging into her palm.

            Jack noticed this and moved in front of her, blocking the pig’s sight of his sister’s ass. He might be lanky and a twig, but he would not stand for someone harassing his sister right in front of him, not again.

            Never again.

            “Yes, Captain Samara?” He asked, crossing his arms so that the pig could see the dagger strapped to his waist.

            “Nothing, Jackson.” Azazel stated, “Get back to work, Kyleigh.”

            Kyleigh refocused, noticing that their little moment had been generally unnoticed by the crew as they worked. She released the mop and straightened out her hands as she refocused, completely ignoring her brother.

            “Are you okay, Ky?” Jack asked, calmly giving his sister a moment to breathe.

            “Don’t call me, Ky. You lost the right to that when you left me alone.” Kyleigh hissed in a rare emotional moment.

            She pushed past Jack, who had frozen, and walk over to climb up to the crow’s nest to be alone. She sat up there to wallow in the silence, unaware of how much time had passed or what anyone else was doing.

            _Fire and flames._

_The smell of burning flesh and the screams of the dead._

_A man with a sick gleam in his eyes, stalking towards her._

_Jack takes off, leaving her alone as the soldier came towards her-stalking like a panther, the grass crunching underneath his feet._

            “Hey, Kyleigh.” Jack stood there with a bowl of grub in his hands with poorly concealed concern in his eyes.

            “What do you want, JayJay?” Kyleigh asked, too tired to realize what she had said.

            “A peace offering.” Jay replied, concealing a smile as he offered the bowl to her.

            Kyleigh nodded in reply as she tiredly grabbed the bowl without complain, even when he sat down beside her. The grub didn’t look very appealing but it was either this or nothing and she had to keep her strength up.

            “It’s a beautiful night, you can see all the stars tonight.” Jay remarked, sitting calmly as Kyleigh ate from the bowl.

            “Yeah, it’s really easy to see the constellations.” Kyleigh replied, already almost done with her food.

            “Yeah, there’s Yacem and Haras, The Owl, and Jara.” Jay said absentmindedly, pointing out each constellation as the two sat there.

            Kyleigh let herself forget about the Rebellion.

            Forget about The Mistress of Death.

            And her sister.

            She let herself just sit there and enjoy the moment with Jay, even if she may hate him.

            “Hey, do you hear that?” Kyleigh lifted her head and heard an earth-shattering boom before she was thrown from the crow’s nest.

            “Ky!” She heard Jay shout before she hit the deck, groaning in pain.

            Men rushed around her, not even noticing as she laid there in pain, while preparing for battle. Jack grabbed her and pulled her away from the chaos before jumping into the fray himself. There were unfamiliar sailors fighting members of her crew as she laid there in a daze.

            “Hello there.” She jumped in alarm, before hitting the floor as a saber slashed where her head use to be.

            She unsheathed her hidden dagger from her waist to parry the saber that nearly stabbed her shoulder. Retaliating, she hit the floor and swiped the man’s feet out from underneath him before stabbing him through the eye. She grabbed the man’s saber and ran off, swiping at one of the men that were surrounding her brother.

            She got his attention.

            She backed up and moved into a familiar defensive form, waiting for him to attack her.

            She was The Mistress of Death, no one survived an encounter with her and never will.

            The man stabbed at her, she parried and got close, elbowing him in the face while breaking his nose in the process. He growled at her, stumbling back while clutching his nose. She attacked, slashing his throat while he focused on his broken nose.

            A woman near her finished her fight with a sword through the chest before approaching Kyleigh. Kyleigh dropped caution and attacked her head on, slashing at her head and was prepared when the woman blocked it. She was the first to drop the sword lock and slashed at the woman’s arm, managed to slash her arm.

            “You cut me.” She stated in shock, her light gray hair flowing in the wind around her.

            “That’s the plan.” Kyleigh bantered, her golden eyes shimmering in the fire’s glow.

 

**~Sky Tacitus~**

           

A fire that had begun to consume The Mystery, burning easily on the wooden ship while many lost their lives to the wild fire. A woman dressed in a blue coat weaved through the chaos, untouched and stopped all who tried to hit her with a single stroke. She made her way towards The Captain of The Mystery, who had made himself comfortable hiding behind his first mate.

            “Azazel Samara, your reign has come to an end.” She hissed, her sword dripping with blood.

            Sky was frustrated, pissed even, because this snake had pillaged innocent Tyrins from their home and had sold them into slaver to put more cash in his pocket. She hated filth like him, people who thought it was okay to force innocent people to serve under them as if their lives-their freedom-meant nothing.

            _The crack of a whip._

_A young girl crying for anyone to rescue her._

_A man with light teal hair, breaking her chains and pulling her away from the carnage._

“You and your dim-witted cripples can’t destroy my legacy!” The Captain shouted, over-confident in his crew’s skills.

            “Are you sure about that?” She asked softly, smirking at his fear before jumping behind him.

            The Captain grew even more panicked as The Mistress vanished where she stood and nearly shit his pants when she reappeared right in front of him. He might be confident about his crew’s skills to face a normal crew, but The Mistress was a demon-she was unnatural.

            “Demon!” He shouted, stumbling back before tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his butt.

            Sky decided not to reply, just smirking before stabbing The Captain through his heart, killing him instantly. She stood, basking in her victory before turning and decapitating the first mate where he stood, fighting her own first mate, Ember Quinn.

            “This is over!” She shouted, “Capture the sailors, grab our dead, and loot the ship! You all deserved it, just get off before the entire ship goes up in smoke!”

            Her crew cheers, running off to do whatever they pleased as Sky went to check below deck for captured Tyrins. She covered her mouth and ran through the flames to get below deck.

            _The fire burned bright as the city **burned.**_

**** _She stumbled, her chains rattling with every step as she tried to escape the flames._

_“Help!”_

_A hero who broke her chains and rescued her from that deadly fire._

“Hello?” Sky called, refusing to be consumed by her memories.

            “Over here.” A voice replied, farther down from where Sky stood.

            She moved, running towards the voice as the walls around her burned. There were five in total- one man, four women, all just children.

            “Stay back!” She shouted, before vanishing into the cell and grabbing all five of them, she vanished once more before reappearing on her own ship, The Maniac.

            “Get them checked out and fed.” She whispered to Valentine Nova, the healers apprentice before walking to where Ember stood in front of the captured.

            “How many are left?” She asked her first mate, pushing her dark purple hair out of her face.

            “Ten.” Ember replied, “There is one female, though.”

            “Strange for a slaver ship.” Sky mused, before addressing her entire crew, “Ah, hell. Kill them!” She shouted, smiling at her crew’s enthusiastic response.

            Sky watched curiously as the girl began to panic, pulling at the bonds as her short brown hair swiveled with her every move. Sky knew she couldn’t do anything though, they had confiscated all weapons for the captured sailors.

            “Wait!” She shouted as they reached the white-haired boy who sat next to her.

            Sky signaled for them to stop as she calmly approached the girl, “Yes?”

            The girl sighed quietly before responding, “I am Lady Kyleigh Augustina, from the most noble and ancient house of Augustina on Kyralean. The man next to me is my brother, Lord Jackson Augustina, heir to the most noble and ancient house of Augustina.”

            Her voice was soft but it commanded respect as she rushed to fill the silence; Sky smiled at the woman, knowing what she was going to say next.

            “My sister is being held captive by Kylien Royalty for going against their conquest to conquer my land and take my people’s freedom away from them. My brother and I were aboard The Mystery because we must rescue her; if your crew and you help me and my brother rescue my sister and chase off The Kylien Navy, I will repay you with whatever you want for my family’s vaults.” Kyleigh bargained, letting herself show fear to persuade them that what she was saying was the truth.

            Sky smiled while sharing a secretive look with Ember, her silver eyes glinting in the fire light as The Mystery fell to the flames. She signaled to the two nearest to the young nobles, Arian Nemes and Jubal Yoshida, to cut the bonds.

            “Do we have a deal?” Kyleigh asked softly, raising her hand after rubbing her wrists.

            “We have a deal.” Sky confirmed, grasping Kyleigh’s hand tightly before shaking it.

            Sky watched quietly as Jack walked to stand beside her younger sister, glaring at her. Sky just smirked back, giving him a sharp, toothy grin in response before walking over to where Aria Hardy stood beside her first mate, Ember, as they held hands.

            “Why don’t you show the two nobles around and introduce they to the crew?” Sky said, not asking.

            “Of course, Captain.” Aria replied, kissing Ember on the cheek before walking over to where the other two stood and introduced herself.

            Sky watched for a moment, catching the Kyleigh’s eye as Aria introduced herself before walking over to the helm and getting everyone’s attention.

            “Alright!” She shouted, “It is time to mourn our losses and get ready to move before any navy men start showing up and try to challenge us or something stupid like that!”

            Sky stood watching as they prepared the funeral’s, they had only lost three men but even those three were too many. Sky put on her mask and refused to let them see her pain as she guided the ship away from the burning mess that used to be The Mystery.

            “Who did we lose?” Sky asked, noticing Ember coming up the stairs.

            “Nikola Steel, John Smoak, and Thomas Dixon.” Ember answered, moving to stand beside her captain.

            _“May Death have mercy on their souls and forgive their sins as they pass into his realm, grant them safe passage and a chance to see their loved ones once more.”_ She whispered, her words lost on the wind as Ember patted her back while they both thought about the lives that had been lost.


	3. Chapter 2

**~Aria Hardy~**

 

        “Welcome to The Maniac, my name’s Aria. Pleasure to meet the two of you, let me give you a tour around this lovely ship.” Aria began, standing in front of the two nobles.

            “Call me Jack, this is Kyleigh, my sister.” Jack said, gesturing to himself and Kyleigh while the young lady’s head was swiveling around as she took in her surroundings.

            “Pleasure to meet you two.”  Aria replied, letting the two absorb the feeling of their surroundings.

            “Is that an Avem?” Jack asked as Kyleigh looked at her with the same curiosity that her brother had.

            It might have been nighttime when they attacked The Mystery, but the time had flown by quickly and it was already nearing sunrise. In the light of the rising sun, it was easy to spot the colorful humanoid avian as he perched in the crow’s nest as his baby girl flew around him on her baby wings.

            “Oh, his name’s Bruce and that’s his baby girl, her name is Dinah.” Aria stated, watching in amusement as their eyes widened in shock, Kyleigh’s subtler and more hidden than Jack’s.

            “Woah.” Kyleigh’s whispered voice reached Aria as she smiled.

            “Let us begin below with our resident healers.” Aria suggested, leading the two below deck as Kyleigh moved to walk beside her.

            “How many do you have on your crew?” Kyleigh asked, gently running her hand across the aged wood as the small group walked towards the infirmary.

            “Well, we really don’t have a certain count because many come and go, but there are about eighteen crew members who stay continuously, counting myself and Captain Tacitus.” Aria replied, answering the question while another realization was on her mind as she waited for Kyleigh to figure it out.

            “Um, we have two healers: Hadrian Arazola and his apprentice, Valentine Nova.” Aria explained before opening the door to the infirmary.

            Aria walked into the room, letting the two siblings follow behind her as she began to explain the situation to Hadrian, “On the slave ship, there was apparently two nobles from Kyralean aboard who were trying to seek passage to Kylien to rescue their sister.”

            Kyleigh walked in first, introducing herself to the surroundings as Jack followed behind her, awkwardly waving to the two healers. The infirmary was a wide room with various beds spread out on the edges of the room while the two healers talked quietly to themselves. Aria noticed the captured Tyrins asleep on the farther corner of the room, all bunched together.

            “This is Lady Kyleigh Augustina and Lord Jackson Augustina and this is Hadrian Arazola and Valentine Nova.” Aria introduced, before stepping back to talk to Valentine.

            “Hey Val, how are the Tyrins doing?” Aria asked, keeping an eye on the young nobles as they began to talk to Hadrian.

            “There wasn’t too much damage minus usual: malnutrition, dehydration, the usual.” Valentine replied, acting as if it didn’t bother her as much as it did. “But, there was evidence of one of them suffering from sexual abuse.”

            Both of their heads turned at a string of cusses that came from Kyleigh’s mouth, as Jack tried to calm her down. Kyleigh must have listened in on their conversation while still paying attention to Hadrian.

            “What wrong, Kyleigh?” Jack asked, searching his sister for injuries.

            “That-goddamn-stupid.” She began to pace. “It was Bonne, Jack! It must have been! That’s why he was leering at me more than usual! He thought he could get more from me! He must have raped one of them!”

            “Kyleigh, calm down. He’s dead. Besides, it could have also been the captain.” Jack reasoned, keeping check of his temper.

            “But that doesn’t change anything! Even if it might’ve been the Captain! I should have done something other than punch him in his stupid face!” Kyleigh yelled, but was distracted when someone laughed.

            “You punched him for leering at you?” Hadrian asked, still laughing as his poisonous green eyes shined with amusement.

            “Uh, yeah.” Kyleigh replied, her face red with embarrassment, her previous anger forgotten at Hadrian’s teasing; Aria noticed Jack’s white knuckles at Hadrian’s tease.

            “You’ve got guts, kid.” He stated, before frowning as he noticed a cut on her face. “Come here, kid, let me clean that. You too, Aria. Don’t think I didn’t notice the cut on your arm when you walked in”

            Aria cussed quietly while Valentine giggled at Hadrian’s antics, her hazel eyes shining with mischief as Kyleigh walked over to where Hadrian was and let him treat her cut. The healer’s apprentice then sat Aria down on one of the beds and began treating the cut on her arm herself. Aria hissed as Val cleaned it with an ointment before making sure she stayed calm as Val began to suture it closed; it was deeper than Aria thought it had been in the first place.

            “Wait, I know that wound. You’re the one I fought on The Mystery!” Kyleigh exclaimed, barely flinching when Hadrian cleaned her own cut.

            “And that took you what, an hour to realize?” Aria teased, stretching her arm once Val had finished bandaging it after she was done with the sutures.

            Kyleigh just glared at Aria as Hadrian finished his work, placing a special ointment on it to prevent it from bleeding and helped the healing process.

            “Are-Are they going to be alright?” Jack asked, breaking the moment between the two as he gestured towards the group on the far side of the group.

            The mood faltered as they remembered what had happened to one of them and how they were treated on The Mystery.

            _A small scuna girl with furry, purple ears and tangled, purple hair._

_Silver chains around her wrists, ankles, and throat that jingled with her every move._

_Whip marks decorating her skin as if she was a blank canvas._

_Those dull reddish violet eyes, pleading with her._

_Begging her to rescue her from the hell that she was trapped in due to what she was born as._

            “With time.” Was all Val said after a moment of silence, dragging Aria out of the past and into the present.

            Jack nodded at the answer while Kyleigh clenched her fists, Aria noted the fact that even if the scum were dead, Kyleigh seemed as if she wanted to bring them back from the dead to just kill them again.

            “Well, with that out of the way let me introduce you to the rest of the crew.” Aria said, breaking the tense silence as she stood up.

            “Okay.” Jack replied as Kyleigh nodded in agreement, while both Hadrian and Val said their good-byes.

            “Our next stop shall be the cook, Peter James Scubus.”

 

**~Kyleigh Augustina~**

 

          Kyleigh didn’t really keep track of how many people she had been introduced to, but there was a group that stuck out the most in her mind.

            Aria called them, the main crew.

            They first met the cook after leaving the infirmary.

            _“Peter James Scubus. Pleasure to meet the two of you.” An older man said, his shaggy dark blonde hair pulled into a ponytail._

_“Kyleigh.” She stated, shaking his head while studying his deep brown eyes, that seemed to be filled with tragedy and wisdom at the same time, intently_

_“And I’m Jack, her older brother.” Jack shook his hand too before grunting as Kyleigh elbow him in the ribs at his final comment._

_“Peter is the oldest standing member on this crew, minus Captain Tacitus, of course.” Aria said, smiling as she noticed that Peter had already began cooking._

_“Wow, that long.” Jack commented, but was quickly cut off by Kyleigh before he could say more._

_“Is that potato bacon stew?” She asked excitedly, the Thyarean meal being one of her favorite foreign dishes._

_“It’s one of my better dishes that I can make with the food that lasts.” Peter replied, stirring his pot while be began to peel the potatoes._

_“Cool, could I help you one of these days?” Kyleigh asked, forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to be emotionless as Peter nodded in consent._

Then, they met the Katsaros and the Laberenz siblings.

            _“Hey there, I’m Avelei Katsaros, the bastard child of the Katsaros House, and that’s my younger brother, Kereteki Katsaros.” A young girl with bright white hair said, gesturing to the young, albino boy on her left who was playing with fire, literally playing with fire; Kyleigh’s eyes widened at the fireball the gray-eyed boy, Kereteki, was tossing around, his gray eyes looking so like his sister’s gray eyes._

_“I’m Jack and this is Kyleigh.” Jack said, remembering what happened last time before Kereteki waved at the two of them with his hand that wasn’t writhed in flames._

_“And that’s Zakai and Aviva Laberenz; don’t mind them though, they’re harmless until someone provokes them.” Avelei continued, pointing towards to other similar-looking people as they sat, unaware of anything except their own little world._

_The older brother sat silently, watching as his younger sister played the knife game with a scary, quick efficiency. The two siblings both had white hair, even if Zakai’s was a little brighter, and both had purple eyes, Aviva’s being a little duller._

_“No challenging her.” Jack said to Kyleigh, noticing the look in his younger sister’s eyes._

_“But-”_

_“No.”_

_Kyleigh pouted, “Fine, for now.”_

_The two didn’t notice Aria watching them with a smile on her face, nor did Kyleigh notice Kereteki looking at her with a strange look in his eyes._

Then they were introduced to the crew’s information broker.

            _“I’m Jacqueline Frosti, but people on the streets know me as Jack Frost.” The blue-eyed, albino girl had been hanging around in the riggings before they had showed up._

_“You’re an info broker?” Kyleigh asked after Jack had introduced them._

_“Yup, I’m pretty well known for my accurate information along with the fact that I’m not a stationary Info Broker like most.” Jacqueline explained, pulling her white hair back into a messy braid._

_“Cool, but where you from originally?” Jack asked, Kyleigh silently asking the same question._

_“I’m from Lazarith, I have a half-sister there, actually, and she’s an Info Broker, too.” Jaqueline answered, smiling at their curiosity._

_“Now, I’m you guys have question but we have to meet up with a few more people before the funerals tonight.” Aria interjected, pulling the two away from the form street rat._

Then, they met the Yoshida brothers.

            _“Hiya! I’m Alitz Yoshida and this is my brother, Jubal! It’s awful nice to meet the two of you!” Kyleigh blinked, just watching the bouncing ball of energy was tiring._

_“Pleasure to meet you as well, I’m Jack and this is Kyleigh.” Her brother introduced, his pale blue eyes tracking the blue-eyes, brown haired boy as well._

_“Sorry about my brother, he is quite energetic.” Jubal stated, his dark blue eyes shining with affection as he stared at his younger brother._

_Kyleigh was exhausted and the floor seemed to rock underneath her as she tried out from not getting any sleep the previous night along with the excite-filled day._

_“You’re fine. Believe it or not, Kyleigh used to be the exact same way when she was younger.” Jack said, reassuring the dark blue haired man that it was fine._

_“Really? For some reason, I just can’t see it.”” Jubal teased as Kyleigh just glared at him, her amount social interactions were running low and she just couldn’t bring it to herself to even try and care._

Finally, they met the first mate of The Maniac.

            _“Hello, beloved.” Aria whispered to the Scuna woman before kissing her._

_“This is my love and first mate of The Maniac, Ember Quinn.” Aria introduced after she broke the kiss to breath._

_“Hi.” Jack said, while Kyleigh waved, both knowing that the woman had already know their names._

_“So, what do you think of the main crew?” Ember asked, smiling as Aria pecked her on the cheek._

_“They’re an interesting bunch.” Kyleigh offered, inwardly smiling like a love-, sick idiot at the two’s cuteness._

_“You can say that.” Ember admitted, shrugging her shoulder from where she stood, steering the ship._

Kyleigh had relocated herself in the riggings, since crow’s nest was taken by the small Avem family, while Jack helped around and talked to some the crew that they hadn’t been introduced to during the tour. Unlike her brother, she wasn’t a very social person and preferred to stay in the shadows since that was what she was used to doing in the Rebellion.

            “Hello there, Lady Augustina.” Kyleigh looked down to see The Mistress on the deck, looking at her.

            “Hi.” Kyleigh replied, preferring to stay up high rather than jump down to talk face-to-face.

            The Mistress smirked before climbing up to where Kyleigh had perched herself, “I’m Captain Sky Tacitus of The Maniac.” She stated, once she reached Kyleigh.

            “Lady Kyleigh Augustina.” She said, even if Captain Tacitus had already known.

            “Pleasure to meet and do business with you, Lady Augustina.” Captain Tacitus cheerfully stated.

            “The pleasure is all mine, but please don’t use my title.” Kyleigh quietly pleaded, hating the fact that she was supposed to be a lady.

            “Okay, Augustina.”

            The two sat there, watching the sun set below the horizon and as the sky lit in various colors, people began to gather on the deck.

            “Come on, Augustina. It’s time.” Captain Tacitus stated, already climbing down.

 

**~Sky Tacitus~**

 

            Sky’s heart seemed to have dropped into the pit of her stomach for what she had to do. Even if those three sailors weren’t part of her main crew, it didn’t make their deaths any lighter upon her mind.

            She stood at the helm, appearing tall and unruffled as a storm raged inside her, with Ember to her right as Aria stood next to her beloved. Kyleigh stood to her left, preferring to stay away from masses of people while her brother mingled. They had anchored down once they had gotten far from the wreckage of The Mystery and once the sun began to set in the sky.

            The three sailor’s bodies were all wrapped in black silk, their belongings wrapped along with them. The ones closest to them were the ones who wrapped them in the silk. It was custom to have sailor’s body thrown into the sea once their life had ended, for there was no better honor then to be buried in what they had dedicated their lives to.

            “Nikola Steel, John Smoak, and Thomas Dixon were all true sailors who loved the sea.” Sky began, a glass of wine heavy in her hand. “Like true sailors, they accomplished the dream of living and dying on the sea. They had no regrets in their lives, for that I can concur. Let us raise a glass to their lives as sailors of the Seven Seas!”

            _A blood-stained deck._

_The sobbing of a young girl, crying over her father’s dead body._

_The glassy, unseeing eyes of the dead as the stared at her in judgement from beyond the dead._

_Only three left._

_They burned the ones who overthrew Captain Lazar and lest the rest lay in the sea as a final gift._

_“Bye Papa.”_

            The entire crew stood on deck, listening respectively as Sky talked about their accomplishments and lives. With a glass of booze everyone toasted to the memory of the­­­ souls lost in the battle of The Mystery.

            _“May Death have mercy on their souls and forgive their sins as they pass into his realm, grant them safe passage and a chance to see their loved ones once more.”_ Sky whispered, her words lost among the crew’s own whispers.

            Each crew member whispered their own prayer to the dead sailors’ souls as they drank their respective glass of booze. Sky’s eyes wandered, picking out the few who were close to the dead sailors as they toasted to their friends with eyes shining from unshed tears.

            _“Have mercy upon them, Twin Raven Goddesses, as they pass into your realm and protect them from the punishment of their sins. May their virtues rather than their sins weigh upon your judgement of their souls.”_ Sky felt touched at the small prayer Augustina had whispered for people she didn’t even know.

            After a small moment of silence after their toast, Sky nodded at Peter and Jacqueline. Receiving the signal, the two began throwing the three’s belongings into the sea before letting the ones who had been close to the dead throw the bodies into the sea as well while everyone watched with dull eyes.

            “May the Sea watch over their bodies and guide their souls to Death’s realm.” Sky said, her voice reaching the entire crew.

            There was another moment of silence after her proclamation as Sky kept her eyes on the horizon, watching as the early moon slowly rose above the horizon. Both Ember and Aria lit the lamps on the deck to shed some light on the preceding events.

            “Let us drink to their souls and remember who they were with joy!” Sky shouted as the crew cheered along with her, destroying the silence with their joy.

            Avelei and few others helped Peter move crates of booze onto the deck as everyone mingled and waited for the festivities.

Jubal and his brother, Alitz, got their instruments ready as the crew began to get anxious; Jubal rosined his bow and got ready to play his viola as Alitz fiddled with his flute, ready and waiting.

            “Let the festivities begin!” Sky shouted, slamming her glass on the railing as they cheered and began to party.

            Jubal and Alitz began to play a jaunty tune as the crew grabbed bottles of booze and began to play. Unlike other customs, The Maniac would celebrate the life of their dead with a party and always think back happily on their memories with their loved ones. Sky stayed back, smiling as she watched her crew cheer and dance while slowly drinking her own bottle of booze.

            “So, this is what sailors’ funerals are like?” Sky turned to face Augustina with a bottle of booze as a peace offering.

            Warily, Augustina accepted it as Sky answered, “Not all sailors. I’m not sure about other ships, but this is how I was taught and this is how my crew treats funerals.”

            “Taught?” Sky ignored Augustina’s quiet prod as drank out of the bottle.

            There was a silence between the two as they watched crew members dance around drunkenly and laugh about funny stories they had of the past.

            “So, didn’t it ever bother you that you helped capture innocent people and force them into slavery?” Sky asked, turning back to face Augustina.

            The noble set her bottle down as she guiltily looked out into the horizon, “of course it did, my own people are captured and turned into slaves if they resist against the new rulers. I just told myself that it was fine, they aren’t my people.”

            Sky watched, slightly horrified as Augustina laughed bitterly as if she had just made a joke.           

            “It didn’t work.” She admitted, “Whenever I looked at them, all I could see was my own people shackled and chained up like dogs. I couldn’t sleep without their faces haunting me, but they’re okay this time. Thank you for saving them.”

            _“How much can we get for a little girl?”_

_“Enough to feed your entire house for a year.”_

_“Take her.”_

_The jingle of coins as she was dragged away from her home, confusion apparent on her face as she called for her mother and father_

            Augustina turned to face her, a drunken smile hesitant upon her face as Sky pushed back memories.

            “It’s my job.” Sky replied, smiling at the obviously drunk girl before frowning at the other bottle she had not noticed until then.

            “You’re a lightweight, aren’t you?” She asked after a moment of silence while Augustina drunk the rest of her bottle.

            “What’s a lightweight?” Augustina asked with a drunken accent as she made grabby motions towards Sky’s own bottle.

            “A person who can’t hold liquor slash a person who gets drunk easily.” Sky replied, placing her bottle far from the young noble’s reach.

            “I’ve never had booze before, maybe a sip of wine but no booze.” Augustina stated, pouting at not getting Sky’s bottle.

            “Alright, I know it’s early but I think it’s bed time for you.” Sky stated, standing before lifting Kyleigh put bridle-style.

            “Ooh, that was fast.” Augustina said, Sky frowning at how cuddly the girl had become.

            “You’re a cuddly drunk.” Sky stated emotionlessly, as she carried the girl down to the crew bunks.

            The crew bunks is a large area of the hull where there were bunk beds lined on opposite walls. The maximum amount of people that could sleep in the room were about 35, 40 if they were pushing it. She laid Augustina down on one of the empty bunks, mentally giving her brother, Jackson, the higher bunk.

            “You’re not that bad.” Augustina whispered as Sky tucked the girl in, feeling very parental at the moment. 

            “How so?” Sky asked, amused at the girl’s deduction.

            “You actually care.” She replied before falling asleep with one of her legs half off the bed.

            Sky blinked, not expecting that answer from the girl she had only met recently. She felt touched, most just assumed that she was like most captains who didn’t really care about their crew if they did their job.

            “Thank you.” She walked out of the room without looking back.


	4. Chapter 3

**~Kyleigh Augustina~**

 

            She sighed, relishing in the peace.

            Unlike the Mystery, they didn’t force her to do stuff or leer at her when she did what they made her. She liked having her peace and being able to help when she wanted to and not be forced to.

            Sitting in the riggings, she relished in the sunny day as she read one of the books that Aria had lent her. She preferred to sit up high, but the crow’s nest was taken by Bruce and his daughter.

            Dinah was a cute little girl with bright blue and green feathers.

            Sometimes she would fly down and chirp at her, still too young to talk human tongue. She would sit next to Kyleigh and play with her hair as Kyleigh stayed still, reading while she let Dinah do what she wanted to.

            _Bright, unfocused eyes staring judgmentally at her._

_Little girls with piggy-tails in their hairs and dolls in their hands._

_Young boys with bright smiles and sticks in hand as they played fight._

_All dead._

_Throats slit and burned faces._

_Torn limbs and stab wounds._

It was nice to have someone be around her instead of being afraid of her.

            “Augustina!” Ember shouted, scaring off Dinah as Kyleigh looked down at the first mate.

            Kyleigh bookmarked her spot before climbing down with the book still in hand. She stood in front of Ember before humming in reply, pushing away old memories.

            “Captain wants to meet with you.” Ember said.

            Kyleigh nodded in reply before Ember lead her to the Captain’s cabin. She opened the door and let Kyleigh enter first before closing the door behind her.

            Kyleigh blinked, The Mistress’s room was smaller than Azazel’s, a lot smaller than the Captain of The Mystery. It was just one room instead of a suite; her bed was on the far side and her desk was just to the right of it.

            “Hello, Augustina.”

            Captain Tacitus sat in the chair behind the desk, looking at papers as she waited for them to arrive. Her hair was down and her blue captain’s long coat was hanging on the wall behind her, she looked calm and relaxed for the first time since Kyleigh first met her.

            “Hello.” Kyleigh replied, taking a seat in the chair on the opposite side of where Captain Tacitus sat.

            “I’ll be on deck if you need me.” Ember stated, exiting the room while closing the door behind her.

            Kyleigh looked around, studying the room as Captain Tacitus finished up with her work. She noticed a small, blue noodle-no, dragon hanging around the captain’s neck watching her as she blinked at it. It has light blue scales and a white fluffy mane and tail, it was like a limp noodle.

            “Ah, so you noticed Bubbles.” Captain Tacitus said, not even lifting her head as she continued looking through her papers.

            Kyleigh’s mind halted, mentally re-reeling as she ran Captain Tacitus’s sentence through her head again, “Bubbles?”

            “Yeah,” Captain Tacitus blushed at the question, setting down her papers. “I got Bubbles when I was seven and I thought it was an appropriate name when I was kid. Jay laughed when he first heard my name choice, too.”

            “Jay?” Kyleigh asked, but knew the moment that she said that name, she said the wrong thing.

            “Uh, an old friend.” Captain Tacitus answered, her small smile vanishing as she fiddled with the papers.

            “Anyways,” She cleared her throat, “I wanted you to come here, so I can go over the finer details of our deal with you.”

            Kyleigh raised her eyebrow in question, letting Sky gather her thoughts as she gathered her own.

            “At the moment, my crew and I are heading to Tyrin to send the captured back home. We need to re-stock and that will take a day or two, depending on how fast I can get to my sellers and get supplies. Now for our next step, where exactly is your sister being held?” Sky asked, planning out the route with a map on her wall.

            “Harlek, capital city.” Kyleigh answered, watching her plan it out.

            The map nearly took up the entire wall and showed every single detail, some notes even looked recent. It showed the entire known area of Alaria, even some area that Kyleigh didn’t recognize.

            “Alright, so then we’ll have to pick up Lowell before we head to Kylein, then head to Lazarith to get them off our trail and finally swing over to Kyralean. Where we drop you off and help you get rid of your infestation.” Captain Tacitus muttered, plotting out a course.

            “Okay?”  Kyleigh asked, raising her eyebrow once more while Bubbles huffed and flew off Captain Tacitus’s shoulders to curl up on the desk as Kyleigh watched him warily.

            “So, once we leave Tyrin, we have to pick a former member of mine from Sakith Isles because he is the only other one listed as captain of this ship and Kyleins hate women in power. After we save you sister, we head to Lazarith to keep them off our trail and stay for a couple days, then we swing back around to Kyralean.” Captain Tacitus explained, drawing the path with her finger.

            Kyleigh watched, mentally calculating the time. “About a year?”

            “Yeah, supposedly.” Captain Tacitus replied, checking Kyleigh’s math.

            “That’s fine.” Kyleigh stated, hiding her uncertainty at the answer.

            “Alright.” Captain Tacitus said, easily seeing Kyleigh’s doubt at how long it would take them.

           

**~Ajara Lupei~**

 

            “Mother! Look at these flowers I found for you!” there wasn’t a reply, but the young girl was used to that.

            The young druid ran towards the tall maple tree that’s leaves were dipped in orange at the edge of a grove that was filled with other various trees and herbs. At the center of the wide grove, stood a wise, old willow tree where a small pond lay at the base of it. There were few plants that were the same, but they were all separated by age and growth.

            Its peaceful beauty hid a melancholy secret.

An older druid paused at the very edge of the grove and just watched for a moment as the younger girl ran towards the maple tree. She sighed before following at a slower pace, but towards the aspen tree the stood proud beside the maple tree.

            “Hello mum.” Ajara beamed, stopping at the base of the maple tree with a smile on her face.

            Ajara sat down at the base of the tree before smiling up at the leaves, “I brought some flowers for you.”

She placed the white lilies with their stems pointing towards the ground before waving her hand, the roots began to grow from the flower stems. With that wave of her hand, the flowers planted themselves at the base of the maple tree. Ajara slowly lowered her hand and looked around at the other, various flowers surrounding the base of the tree; she had brought different flowers every time Gran brought her to visit mum.

            Ajara began to chatter on about her day to her mum as her Gran slowly walked over to where her son had been buried beside his wife.

A strong Aspen tree had been what he had been buried as in the Lupei Grove, along with all his ancestors.

            She sat down, carefully watching as her green-eyed grand-daughter jabbered on excitedly about her time since she had last seen her mum to the planted version of her step-daughter.

Her step-daughter had died years ago, trying to protect her own daughter, Ajara, from being taken by Traders. Unfortunately, she failed and Ajara had been taken to be a slave but was lucky enough to have been saved by The Mistress of the Seven Seas or personally known as Captain Sky Tacitus.

Although, not without gaining her own scars.

The Lupei Grove was a large area encompassed within the massive forest used as burial grounds for the entire Lupei family. The large willow tree in the center of grove was the oldest burial there, dating back millions of years ago to the very first Lupei.

            “Gran! Mum really likes the flowers I got her!” Ajara says, turning to where her grandmother sat at the base of the aspen tree before greeting her father. “Hi, dad. I brought some flowers for you too.”

            Unlike the white lilies she had brought her mother, she planted blue lotus flowers at the base of the tall aspen tree. She smiled at her grandmother who gave her a strained smile in return before telling her dad the same this she told her mum as her grandmother listened politely.

            “I’m going to make my rounds.” She told her grandmother after a moment of silence once she said all she could before standing up.

            Her Gran nodded in reply as she relished in the peacefulness of the quiet grove, before handing her grand-daughter the wooden basket filled with various, different flowers all with their stems cut short.

            With the basket, Ajara then visited every single tree, flower, shrub, or herb and gave her respect by planting the various, different flowers near them. Each Lupei got a small bundle of the same flower that was different from what she gave the others.

Her Gran had never told her just exactly how many Lupei had been buried in the grove, but Ajara had to assume that it was many by how many flowers gathered each time she came to visit.

            With her vivid gray hair tied back, she visited the large willow tree last with white magnolia flowers in hand.

            “Give me strength, Ancestor Lupei, give me wisdom and the strength to use it.” Ajara said, replanting the magnolias at the base of the wise tree.

            She kneeled down before the small pond as she sat there with her eyes closed and took in the calm atmosphere. Fish splashed around in the small pond, she could feel the earthly dirt beneath her.

            _The man came closer, a flaming torch in hand with a sick gleam in his eyes._

_“If you play with fire, you’ll get burned.”_

_She screamed as he shoved her face into the torch._

_The man laughed at her scream._

_The smell of burning flesh-her own burning flesh- stung her nose._

_She screamed._

_She cried._

_Her tears dried up before they fell, though._

            She breathed in slowly through her nose, letting the memories fall from her mind before staring at her own reflection in the water. She frowned, touching the rough skin that covered the right side of her face before smiling as a tiny goldfish jumped up, breaking her reflection in the pond.             

She stood up and began to walk around the grove, the basket still in hand as she began weeding the entire grove. While it might be a druid cemetery, it was just like a regular garden and all gardens had their own weeds.

She preferred the hard work of tugging the rogue weeds out of the ground instead of using her powers to shrivel them. When she shriveled them, they died and the plants around it used the nutrients to grow stronger.

Her least favorite weeds to pull out, though, were the Bindweeds, they looked just like Morning Glory but lasted all year rather than just seasonally. She loved the way they looked when they wrapped around the trees during the fall, but they were still weeds and she had to pull them, unfortunately.

She’d never tell Gran but at their house, she never removed the Bindweeds from her personal garden.

The air was peaceful as she worked silently, her Gran working on her own part of the grove. As one of the last few Lupei, they had to maintain the grove.

Each druid family that their own family grove, but there were only seven main druid groves that every druid family descended from.

Lupei.

            _The family that protects the animals of the forest._

Hardy.

            _The family that protects the seas that surround the continent._

Akiyama.

            _The family that protects the herbs and spices that grow from the ground._

Delany.

            _The family that protects the creature the decided to live in the forest._

Hayashi.

            _The family that protects the trees of the forest._

Rosales.

            _The family that protects the flowers of the forest._

Tacitus.

            _The family that protects the sea creatures that live around the continent._

Each druid family protected an aspect of the land they lived in and it may have tampered off throughout the years, they still watched over what they protected.

“Bye mum, bye dad!” Ajara called as she and her Gran left the grove, finished with their work.

“Hey Gran, isn’t Captain Sky supposed to come today?”

 

**~Sky Tacitus~**

 

She knocked on the door, her stomach swirling with tension as her gut told her something was wrong.

The house was desolate, quiet and abandoned.

“Grandmother Lupei?” She called, giving up on the door before swinging around to the back to see if they were in their garden.

Their garden was empty, beautiful and gorgeous as always but it seemed bleak and lonely.

She clenched the small wooden chest in her hands, her knuckles turning white in her worry before she decided to check the woods. Before leaving, she set the chest down on the back step, patting it on the top before starting to look.

She might’ve been only looking, but she wasn’t taking any chances as she kept a hand on her sheathed saber.

Even the forest seemed to be on edge as she looked, the birds weren’t chirping and it all seemed to be on a standstill. No animals were wandering around.

“Ajara! Grandmother Lupei?”

She traced the familiar path that lead to the Lupei Grove, Ajara had brought her there a few times to meet her parents. Sky always adored the idea of life after death and being able to be near your family the entire time.

“Ajara?” Sky reached the grove but no one was there and unlike the other times Sky had been then, the grove tense as if it was waiting for something to happen.

There was no wind bellowing through the willow tree’s branch, making its own beautiful music.

The fish were still in the pond.

The entire grove was still.

Sky jumped at the scream that echoed through the forest.

“Ajara!”

She began to run towards where the scream originated from.

She jumped over stray logs and ran through the brush.

The closer she got, the more she could see signs of a scuffle.

She pushed herself even harder.

But she didn’t notice the lump on the ground.

She tried to jump but she failed.

She tripped over it, trying to catch her fall but cut her hand on a sharp rock instead.

Sky turned to look.

She forced herself not to scream.

Grandmother Lupei’s glassy eyes stared back at her, judging her and looking into her soul.

She had been stabbed through the stomach and left to bleed out, watching her grand-daughter being taken away from her.

Sky bowed her head, spending a moment of silence for the old soul as she closed the older Druid’s eyes.

_“May Death have mercy on her soul and forgive her sins as she passes into his realm, grant her safe passage and a chance to see her loved ones once more.”_

She lifted her head and began to run after Ajara.

She didn’t even notice the wooden basket full of torn weeds that had been spilt on the ground.

Sky grit her, refusing to let Ajara go through it again.

She vanished, reappearing on the cliff of the far side of the continent.

Ajara was there, hog-tied and placed on a man’s shoulders by some Traders who’d been looking to gain a few more coin.

Sky growled, unsheathing her sword as she attacked with a loud scream, catching one of them off guard.

She decapitated him, his head falling off the cliff before his body joined it.

The one holding Ajara began took off, running down the narrow path down the cliff to their vessel that was anchored a little way into the bay, a dingy docked on the beach was their escape route.

She growled again, slashing at the other man but was blocked by the man’s own sword.

She retaliated and was blocked again, before dropping to the ground and swiping his foot out from underneath him.

She stabbed him in the chest before he could move.

Sky looked up, her face in a permanent snarl as she vanished, reappearing right in front of the man carrying Ajara on his shoulders.

She slashed at him, he dodged, taking a step back.

His foot touched air.

Ajara realized before looking at Sky and smiling with tears in her vibrant green eyes.

He fell backward as Sky shouted, trying to grab hold of him but her hand grasping nothing.

“Ajara!”

He hit the beach, lifeless as the bundle he was carrying.

It was a five-story fall.

He wasn’t getting up again.

Sky vanished, reappearing right beside Ajara’s still body.

She dropped her saber.

“Ajara?”

She fell to her knees, untying the young girl.

“Come on Ajara, open your eyes for me.”

Sky ignored Ajara’s broken limbs.

She ignored the young druid’s snapped neck.

She ignored the tears in her own eyes.

“Ajara, this isn’t funny. Open your eyes.”

She gathered the skinny girl in her arms, tears pouring down her face as she begged for Ajara to open her own.

She moved the hair from Ajara’s face, blood smearing on the girl’s cheek as she used her injured hand.

“Ajara, please!”

She didn’t open her eyes.


	5. Chapter 4

**~Jackson Augustina~**

 

The restaurant might’ve been tiny and old, but the food there was delicious. So delicious, that Jack loved coming back since the first time he was brought there by an older member of his first crew.

_“Come on kid, the food here’s great.”_

_The man with blue eyes stated, dragging the young boy along/_

_“Woah.”_

_The man chuckled at the boy’s excited exclamation when he took his first bite of the food._

That’s why he decided to bring Kyleigh here when he wanted to talk to her about it.

“A glass of water, please.” Kyleigh said to the female Nikochecu waiter after Jack requested her own drink.

The waiter had red furry fox ears that matched the color of his furry tail and shaggy hair. His green cat eyes narrowed as he scribbled their order; they had both gotten the same thing, hamburgers.

Jack shifted on the red leather booth once the waiter trailed off after he handed them their drinks.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Kyleigh asked, watching him with narrowed eyes while sipping her water.

“Three things.” Jack replied, drinking his bottle of booze.

“Which are?” She raised her eyebrow.

“First thing, even if you don’t want to hear it, at all, I’m sorry for being a coward and leaving you that night to the mercy of that Kylien warrior. I should have stayed, even if it got me killed.”  Jack apologized, looking at Kyleigh while his sister refused to meet his eyes.

The two of them were practically invisible inside the restaurant where everyone was doing their own thing.

No one knew the important conversation that was going down right in front of them.

“It’s fine, JayJay.” Kyleigh muttered, drawing an invisible battleplan on the wooden table.

“No.” He said, grabbing Kyleigh’s hand before pulling it towards him as her eyes followed. “It’s not fine, I acted like a wuss and you got hurt because I didn’t do anything.”

He waited in silence and watched the fight in her eyes as she decided what to say before she settle on silence and just watched him.

He smiled at her before continuing, “second thing, I’m planning on returning with you to help with the rebellion but I’m going back on the sea afterwards.”

The struggle in her eyes on not saying anything or belittling him was clear, but Jack was glad that she decided to stay quiet.

“Here are your meals.”

The waiter concealed his nervousness well, but his twitching tail gave him away as he served their food.

The siblings nodded in thanks and began to eat, setting the conversation on hold until they ate.

Jack studied how Kyleigh ate her burger, she ate as if something was about to happen or someone was going to take her food away.

The tips of his mouth tilted downward as he figured out that his baby sister had gone to sleep hungry more than once since the last time he saw her.

Unknown to him, Kyleigh watched him out of the corner of her eyes while finishing her meal as soon as possible so that they wouldn’t take it-

Wait.

She paused, slowing down.

No one was going to take her food away from her, she wasn’t at the Rebellion.

She didn’t have to fight for her food.

Taking her time, she relished in the flavor of the burger and fries, letting herself taste it instead of gobbling it down as quick as possible.

Jack cleared his throat, polishing off the rest of his plate before he continued the conversation.

“The third thing, is-” he scratched the table, “-is that I’m going to give up the heir title and give it to Lynne.”

Kyleigh paused, she literally dropped her fry.

“Wait. What?”

“Uh, I’m going to give up the heir title and give it to Lynne.” He repeated, feeling a lot like his sister as he avoided making eye contact.

Give up his heir title?

He was leaving.

“But, that means you won’t have to come back to Kyralean.” She froze, her mind went numb as she gave up on making reasons on why he would do this.

His head lowered, “precisely.”

 

**~Sky Tacitus~**

 

_“May Death have mercy on her soul.”_

She kneeled on the ground, her hands caked with dirt from planting the newest additions to the Lupei Grove.

A tiny cherry tree.

            _Ajara._

_“And forgive her sins as she passes into his realm.”_

And a tiny cedar tree.

            _Grandmother Lupei._

Two woven bracelets sat on her hands, they felt heavy.

They belonged to Ajara.

_“Grant her safe passage.”_

Time passed, she didn’t know how long she’d been there or when she’d first got there.

The grove was silent, it wasn’t tense. Nor was it peaceful.

_“And a chance to see her loved ones,”_

It was accepting.

_“Captain Sky!”_

_Ajara was waited at the dock, like usual._

_“Hey kid.”_

_Sky smiled, happy at seeing the girl still alive._

Ajara was dead.

_“Once more.”_

And it was all her fault.

The druid was too young to die.

She had so much to live for.

_“What do you wanna be when you get older?”_

_They sat in the forest, alone._

_Grandmother Lupei trusted her with Ajara._

_“A storyteller.”_

_Figures the kid is interested in the past._

_“Really?”_

_She just couldn’t see it._

_“Yeah, it fun telling stories of the past to others.”_

_Ajara pouted, not understanding why she had to explain it._

_“Alright then.”_

_Sky agreed, watching as Ajara greeted a young red fox that stumbled onto their area._

She stumbled away, her hands still caked with dirt.

The forest was blurry though her tears.

It was quiet as she stumbled away from the grove.

The forest mourned one for her children.

But, the sun still shined.

The world still continued on with its life.

It should be dark and bleak.

A child had died because of man’s gluttony and greed.

They should be mourning.

She stumbled into a bar, not really knowing at which she ended up in but not really caring.

There were few others there, drowning their own sorrows.

She took a spot at the bar.

It was still early noon.

She drank a bottle of booze.

And another.

It was still noon.

She drank another, remembering the girl’s broken limbs and pale skin.

She drank, remembering everything.

The older druid’s judgement stare.

The girl’s sad smile and reassuring look.

The accepting grove.

The fact that she killed Ajara by not paying enough attention to her surrounds.

It got closer to late noon.

She bought another bottle of booze before getting kicked out.

She sat, wallowing in her grief.

She paused.

Her memories clashed.

_She smiled as she fell back._

_He smiled as he was cut down, his eyes in shock but his mouth never wavering from his smile._

_Her broken limbs and snapped neck._

_His slashed neck and bloody shirt._

_The emptiness at knowing she failed._

_The rage at knowing she would not let the faux captain remain alive._

She lay down in front of the bar.

Its name was The Cheeky Chipmunk.

She laughed, echoing harshly from the base of her throat.

Clever.

People ignored her as they continued on with their lives, writing her off as a drunkard that got kicked out of the bar.

Her hair formed a halo around her head.

Her bottle of booze sat beside her.

Her blue coat was rumpled and dirty.

Ajara’s bracelets were heavy on her wrist.

She looked like shit.

But at the moment, she really didn’t care.

She looked up at the sky.

She saw the sun, in all its glory.

And frowned.

 

**~Kyleigh Augustina~**

 

She huffed, pissed off at the world.

She was lost in this stupid forest, having no idea where the fuck she was.

Jack never wanted to return home.

And if she didn’t get back to the ship on time, they would leave without her.

Kyleigh definitely knows they would.

She kicked the tree next to her, cussing loudly as she tried to remember here she came from.

It was a little past sunset now, apparently, she had spent almost half the day pissed off at her brother. She didn’t even remember when she had gotten into this goddamn forest.

She began muttering about stupid brothers, stupid captains, and why does it always have to be her?

“Are you talking to someone?”

Kyleigh jumped, shifting into a defensive stance as she looked around, her hand resting on her hidden dagger.

A woman walked out of the forest, but she wasn’t human.

Kyleigh blinked, observing the humanoid creature in front of her.

She had skin the color of the night sky while a white bunny mask covered her face.

There were tiny, red blotches splattered on the bottom of the mask.

The mask had been slightly pulled up, Kyleigh could see the sharpened teeth and the black liquid that dripped from her eyes.

The woman lifted her head, breathing through her nose from behind the bunny mask, “You smell weird.”

“Weird?” Kyleigh didn’t remove her hand from her dagger, but she didn’t unsheathe it.

Yet.

“You don’t smell fully human, but you don’t smell like any half-breed I know of.” The woman observed, circling Kyleigh from a distance.

Kyleigh narrowed her eyes, unsheathing her dagger while trying to ward the woman away.

(She ignored the observation, but stored it way for a rainy day when she got bored enough.)

The woman paused, looking insulted, “you honestly think that can hurt me?”

Kyleigh didn’t waver, stilling herself as the woman lunged at her with her long black claws.

“Hey!” Captain Tacitus shouted, jumping out of the bush before swiping at the woman with her saber. “Stay away from m’ crew, Blackie!”

Kyleigh’s eyes widened, she stood in shock as she stared the young captain as she drank from a bottle of booze in one hand while swiping at the woman with the saber in her other hand.

The woman hissed, but fled the scene, leaving behind no evidence.

Kyleigh blanked, mentally reeling the last few moments though her head once more to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She silently watched as Captain Tacitus tried to take another sip of her booze, but missed and spilt it on her shirt instead.

Kyleigh sighed, hiding a small smile, she re-sheathed her dagger before approaching the very drunk captain.

“You are really drunk.” She stated, her words blunt.

“No, ‘m not! You’re just blurry.” Captain Tacitus slurred, visibly trying to keep herself upright as she leaned on a tree while trying to sheath her saber.

“Okay then Captain, let’s get you back to The Maniac before you collapse and I laugh at you.” Kyleigh finished, wrapping an arm around Captain Tacitus’s shoulder and dragging her away from the area to where she believed the town was.

“Please speak in smaller sentences, I’m drunk.” Captain Tacitus requested, leaning heavily on Kyleigh.

“Okay.” She didn’t bother to hide her smile this time, knowing that captain Tacitus would not remember this the next day.

After a moment of silence, “Why are you so drunk?”

Captain Tacitus looked somber as she remembered, “there’s been a death in the family.”

“My deepest sympathies towards you and yours.” Kyleigh muttered, her whisper not lost upon deaf ears.

They continued in silence, Kyleigh hoping that she was going the right way while Sky knew she was terribly lost.

“You’re goin’ the wrong way.” Sky stated, watched Kyleigh’s reaction.

Kyleigh began to cuss and turned around, shuffling awkwardly with Sky leaning on her, who burst out into drunk giggles upon hearing the long string of cusses that streamed from the young noble’s mouth.

“Woah, you kiss your momma with that mouth?”

“Oh, shut it.” Kyleigh replied, barely noticing the fact that the mention of her mother barely fazed her.

The journey continued, silent as the two worked their way out of the forest.

Kyleigh had about a million question she wanted to ask, but stayed silent in favor of studying the captain.

She knows that she didn’t know Captain Tacitus well, but she could tell that the captain wasn’t one to get horribly drunk unless something had really messed with her.

_“There was a death in the family.”_

Kyleigh recognized the dullness in the captain’s eyes, it was the same dullness she had gotten when she had realized that even children were casualties of war.

And.

There.

Was.

Nothing.

She.

Could.

Do.

To.

Prevent.

It.

From.

Happening.

_Burnt dolls and broken, wooden swords._

_Innocence lost as she realized that it was her fault._

_The glassy eyes agreed with her._

“Was it a younger sister?” Kyleigh’s question was barely a whisper, but Captain Tacitus could still hear it.

“Her name as Ajara.”

_“Have mercy upon her, Twin Raven Goddesses, as she passes into your realm and protect her from the flames of her sins. May her virtues rather than her sins weigh upon your judgment of her soul.”_

“You’re still going the wrong way.”

Kyleigh cussed, breaking the tense silence as Sky once more burst out in drunk giggles while the young noble tried to figure out where to go.


	6. Chapter 5

**~Ember Quinn~**

 

She knew she hadn’t known Captain Tacitus if the previous first mate had, but she knew that the captain had a bad habit of getting drunk when something bad happened.

It was her coping method.

Ember sighed, swiping her reddish-purple hair out of her face as her ear twitched at the loud commotion going on outside. The crew was worried because they all knew that the captain wasn’t one for drinking unless something had happened.

She stood in the captain’s room, signing off on shipments as Captain Tacitus slept on peacefully on her bed with Bubbles watching over her from his perch on the captain’s forehead.

She set the papers down, sparing a glance at the sleeping woman, her heart felt heavy at how peaceful she had looked in her sleep. Ember didn’t even realize how haunted the captain’s eyes were or how she walked like the world was on her shoulders until she was at peace and Ember could compare.

Captain Tacitus was only 23 years old.

Ember sighed once more, getting back to the papers she began looking through to make sure it all lined up correctly.

Unknown to her, Captain Tacitus had begun to stir.

Panic apparent on her face as she shifted, lost in a nightmare.

“Dad!”

“Ajara!”

Ember bowed her head before trying to wake the captain, her heart heavy as she remembered just how _young_ Sky Tacitus actually was.

“Captain. Captain, it’s just a nightmare.”

She shook her, attempting to wake her as she avoided the swinging fists.

“Dammit, Sky! It’s just a nightmare!”

The captain shot up, Ember dropped drown while avoiding the head on collision with Captain Tacitus. The woman’s eyes were foggy as she woke, still trapped in the clutches of her nightmare.

Bubbles chirped softly, helping break the captain out of the nightmare’s hold while he wrapped around her neck.

“Ember?” Her voice was as foggy as her eyes.

“I’m right here, Captain Tacitus. Everything is fine.” She soothed, raising her hands to calm the anxious woman.

Captain Tacitus then winced, clutching her head she laid back down in the bed, “What-”

Then she remembered.

Everything.

“Oh.”

“So, you remember yesterday?” Ember asked, handing the captain a glass of water.

“Who found me?” Captain Tacitus ignored the question, slightly dreading the answer as she slowly sipped the water.

“Lady Augustina, apparently you saved her from a nocum while shit-ass drunk and then belittled her the entire way back to The Maniac.” Ember’s eyes gleamed as she allowed herself to take a little bit of pleasure in the captain’s reaction.

“I must’ve jumped there and saw her.” She groaned, letting her head thunk on to her knees as she curled into a ball, her back against the wall.

“Now I know why Lowell told me to never leave you alone when you’re drinking.” Ember stated, hiding her grin. “I’ll leave you alone for now, but we do have to load up the shipments and supplies.”

“And why aren’t you the captain again?” She shifted, sitting up the right way as Bubbles chirped at her.

“Aw, I never knew that you were offering.” Ember replied back with a smirk on her face.

Ember watched for a moment, noticing Captain Tacitus’ pale face and slightly labored breathing.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m gonna be with Aria, if you need me.”

Captain Tacitus nodded, petting Bubbles softly as her dragon chirped back at her.

Ember let her smile drop, exiting the room she sighed softly.

She didn’t know what happened to the captain yesterday, but it really must have shaken the young captain. Ember has never seen her act like this.

So, what happened?

 

**~Sky Tacitus~**

 

Sky sat there for a while, just petting Bubbles’ mane and letting herself wallow in her misery.

_The small smile on her face._

_The fear and shock on the man’s._

_“Ajara!”_

_Her broken body splayed upon the ground._

She blinked, looking down at Bubbles who had bit her finger when he saw her eyes fog up.

“Thanks, bud.” She muttered, sitting up so that her feet touched the ground while Bubbles curled around her forearm.

She stood up, letting Bubbles flew off her arm and rest on his perch that sat on her desk. Walking to her closet, she got dressed quietly, Bubbles yellow cat-eyes following her every move with concern in his eyes.

She pulled her white dress shirt on, her eyes stuck on the dried dirt beneath her nails.

She began to tremble.

_Glassy eyes._

_Blood spilling from the cut on her throat._

_Staring at her in judgement._

Her arms were shaking as Bubbles flew to her and re-wrapped himself around her arm in silent reassurance.

He chirped, nudging her chin to make her focus on him instead of her nails.

“It’s stupid, I know.” She slowly collapsed to the ground on her knees. “I have seen death before, but this is what disables me. It makes no sense! I’m just being stupid!”

Bubbles chirped at her, his eyes glowing with concern and support.

“Thanks bud.”

Sky took a deep breath and stood, getting herself dressed as her dragon perched himself on her head, standing guard.

It was silent, Sky usually preferred it that way but standing in the quite mad it too easy to slip into the past.

A struggle Sky has always had to deal with since the Fall of The Traveler.

_“Captain Lazar!”_

_A successful mutiny over a good captain._

_Not even a year later._

_Bright sun._

_Idiotic captain._

_“Jay!”_

_Blood spilt across the clean deck._

_“Kill the brat!”_

_Laughter._

_Was it her?_

_Was she the one who was laughing?_

_Blood._

_So much of it._

_It stained her hands._

_It stained her clothes._

_It stained her face._

_It stained her sword._

_Revenge…_

_Wasn’t right._

_But it felt so good._

“Captain Tacitus?” Augustina knocked on the door, startling her from her memories.

“Uh.” She coughed. “Yes?”

“May I come in?” Augustina asked, her voice echoing through the door.

Sky tied her hair back, “Sure, the door’s unlocked.”

Bubbles flew and wrapped himself around her neck once more, nestling himself in her messy hair. He watched with bright eyes as the youngest Augustina walked in, her steps light as she closed the door behind herself.

Sky waited in silence as Augustina looked for the words to say, leaning against the desk.

“Are-are you alright?” The woman asked, her eyes searched for any chips in Sky’s mask.

Sky gave her a strained smile, “I’m fine.”

They both knew that she was lying, but Augustina was kind enough to not point it out.

“So.”  trailed off, looking at the tiny dragon. “Who’s this little fella?”

Sky looked down, looking at her Mongolian Dragon who looked back at her with a gummy smile. Sky spared him a tiny smile of her own before looking back at the young noble.

“His name’s Bubbles-don’t laugh.” Sky cut herself off at Augustina’s snort. “I got him when I was a kid, what did you expect me to name him? SkullChrusher? Mania?”

“Well, I named my Pangulin Puff, Aleista.” Augustina paused, her eyes wide as she clapped her hands over her mouth.

“Oh, well we can’t all be geniuses.” Sky shot back with a grin on her face as Augustina lowered her hands from her face.

The young noble snorted once more, “genius? You’re talking to the girl who once got herself stuck in a fishing net, on land.”

“On land?” Sky snorted; Bubbles trilled at the sound of her laugh, happy that the brunette was making her laugh.

“Oh, laugh it up. Like you’ve never done anything like that before.” Augustina shot back, a small grin on her own face.

“Well, I did once fall off the ship because I saw a Syreni.” Sky said thoughtfully, her smile widening at Kyleigh’s laugh.

 

**~Lynne Augustina~**

 

Lynne glared, refusing to give them the pleasure of laughing at her pain.

She was the leader of the rebellion and second in line for the lordship of the Augustina House, some pitiful soldiers couldn’t break her if they tried.

They were trying, though.

And failing.

“Hey beauty, how about you come over here and suck-”

“Quiet!”

Lynne didn’t even spare the criminal a glance, he was pathetic and not worth her time.

“Pretty girl!”

“Come on!”

“Hey Beaut!”

“I’m cold over here!”

Cat calls and wolf whistles didn’t even chip at her mask.

The guards dragged her back to her empty cell, they deemed her too unsafe to be with others after she nearly killed her first roommate after she had gotten too handsy with her.

Rapists.

Child murderers.

 Abusers.

They were the worst type of human being.

Murderers and thieves couldn’t even compare.

“The King is demanding your presence.”

Lynne smirked at the nervous messenger dressed in noble clothing who jumped at each cat call.

“You can tell him to go fuck himself.”

Screw camaraderie.

The messenger trembled even more at the thought having to deliver the message back to the king.

“Don’t worry, he won’t kill the messenger.”

He began to walk away from the cell, clutching his bag closer as the inmates began trying to grab him.

“Maybe.”

She smirked, watching him vanish around the corner.

A dead man walking.

It was a different messenger that told her she was going to meet the king and the guards were going to escort her to him, she couldn’t refuse.

“More backbone, I like it.”

The messenger wavered but didn’t move, instead giving her clothes to wear and told her to get dressed.

She snorted at the fact that he thought he had her under control.

The clothing was a fucking dress.

A bloody ballgown.

Nice try, but she wasn’t going to wear a ball gown.

Not today.

The guards were indifferent at her clothing but the messenger would glance back at her every few moments, his face pale.

She didn’t change, she just wore the clothes she had on when she had been taken.

Her General’s outfit, basically armored clothing and a long dark blue cloak with a mask that she left behind.

She smirked at the visible twitch in the King’s eye, oh how she loved pissing royalty off.

“You summoned me? _Your majesty._ ”

“I am King Titus Zhao and you will treat me with the proper respect!”

Lynne saw the Queen flinch at the loud tone and felt sorry for the young girl, she looked no older than 15.

The young noble grew angry, the king was abusive with his wife and no one would ever care because he was the king.

“I’ll give respect when you’ve earned it, abuser.”

Her tone was calm, masking the storm within.

The King gave her a cruel smirk before beckoning one of the generals lining the walls to step forward.

“You will wed my brother, Victor, after learning to be a woman by my wife.”

Lynne growled, jumping up and charging she was tossed back when the guards grabbed the chains connected to the cuffs on her wrists and ankles.

She let out a long string of cuss words, all aimed at the king as he grew more pissed at each word that came out of her mouth.

“Watch you back, _your majesty._ You can never find a rat until it’s already eaten your entire storage.”

They pulled her out of the throne room, dragging her back to her cell.

“You will be moved to the castle tomorrow.”

She screamed, frightening the messenger as he scrambled to get out of the way as she threw one of her shoes at him with startling accuracy.

“What’s the matter baby?”

“Can I come and help you?”

“Hey Beaut, let me help you!”

“Come on!”

_“Shut the fuck up you callous bastards!”_

She collapsed into the corner, tugging her knees toward her chest as she ignored the silence that encompassed the cell area.

She was the leader of the Rebellion, she didn’t have time to break down.

Everyone is counting on you.

Everyone.

She didn’t get the luxury of breaking down.

That’s what she told herself, at least.

A traitor tear running down her face before Lynne could wipe it off her face.


	7. Chapter 6

**~Circe Kokinos~**

 

“’Ello there, Madam Red.” She smiled politely, her painted lips twitching upward at his drunken slur.

“Hello, Rat.” She replied, her bright red eyes burning with power.

She stood there in her favorite red dress, cut at her knees, with black pants underneath.

Her saber sat sheathed on her back while a plethora of daggers were stashed upon her person.

“What can I do you for, Madam?” He slurred, his mud brown eyes shining with greed.

“I need information about the challenger in Lazarith and what’s going on in Harlek?” She asked, sitting down besides the man while signaling for a drink.

“Why don’t you just ask Rose?” He looked up and down at her with a suggestive leer.

“Because I can’t find her and she most likely hasn’t heard about the commotion going on.” She sipped at her booze, ignoring the look while her hand itched toward one of her hidden daggers.

The tavern was large and there were many people there, so she couldn’t cause a scene.

“You know it’s gonna cost ya.” He stated, looking away.

She set a package down, “it’s silk straight from Lowves Isle in the Sakith Isles and enough gold to buy you a pure-breed stallion.”

She looked away as his eyes began to _glow_ at the thought of how much money was right within his reach.

He picked up the package and inspected it before placing it within his ratted cloak.

“The new challenger’s alias is Diablo Sparva, he challenged Queen Lillian a week ago for the throne. Supposedly, the challenge will take place in a few months on Raamaen.” He sipped at his drink, swirling the glass around. “And, supposedly, the King has named a Kyralean prisoner to be Prince Victor Zhao’s wife.”

“Wife?” She whispered into her drink, brushing off her dark red blazer.

“Yes, and it gets better.” He leaned toward her. “She’s the leader of that rebellion on Kyralean that’s picking a fight with Kylien and Avaleon.”

She leaned away from him, ignoring the fiddle music that danced around the room.

“Aren’t you talking about that Mistress of Death legend?” She signaled for another.

“Somewhat. You know, the legend actually originated from Kyralean. It’s started with a supposedly un-killable soldier who wields a golden bladed scythe; they created the legend to strike fear into the hearts of new soldiers so they wouldn’t get themselves killed. Although, they haven’t really been any major reports of the Mistress in the past year or so.” He replied, picking at his teeth with a tooth pick.

“Strange.” She said, her eyes picking out the various hidden weapons amongst the crowd.

“Very, but I was previously talking about those natives who had grouped together to fight off Kylien and Avaleon’s advances toward their land.” He set his glass upside down before standing up. “Pleasure doing business with you, Red Madam.”

She nodded to him as he threw down a small bag of gold by the glass before walking out of tavern.

Circe sat to himself, drinking shot after shot letting herself relax as the alcohol made her head buzz. She tucked her vibrant red hair behind her ear as it moved in front of her face.

“Hey, sweet cheeks. Can I fuck you?” She stilled at the unfamiliar hand on her waist, setting her glass down as her eyes narrowed.

She turned around, “I don’t know, can you?”

She smirked at the confusion on the man’s face as she finished her shot, leaving a few pieces of gold, she stood up to leave.

“Aw, don’t be like that honey.” He grabbed at her wrist, his drunken breath made her nose curl.

“Decide on a pet name, either sweet cheeks or honey.” She snapped, pulling her wrist from his grip before walking away.

“Come on-”

She punched him solidly right in the nose, breaking it.

People jumped up, his friends began to pull him away as some jumped up right in her face.

Too drunk to deal with anyone’s bullshit at the moment, she just flipped them off before walking out of the tavern, slamming the door with more force than necessary.

 

**~Kyleigh Augustina~**

 

The sky darkened at sunset.

And brightened at sunrise.

It was a constant cycle that Kyleigh hated while aboard the Maniac, and while she may love being on the sea, like she always dreamed, it got a little repetitive after a while.

How did Captain Tacitus deal with it?

“Good Night Ky.” Jack said, patting her on the shoulder as he walked below deck.

She nodded in reply, setting up at the bow near one of the lanterns that usually stayed lit during the night. Sitting down, she opened one of the book’s that Ember lent her and began to read.

Kyleigh already knew that it was going to be another long night, she just decided not to try this time.

She wasn’t stupid enough to tangle with her nightmares after a night of semi-peaceful rest.

It was quiet, the waves rocked against the hull as the Maniac sailed toward the Sakith Isles. The wind blew softly, filing their sails.

She didn’t know who was on night duty, it was usually the same person as normal but she didn’t really pay attention.

“Can’t sleep?” Kyleigh jumped at Captain Tacitus’ far off voice.

The noble twisted around to see the captain standing at the wheel waving at her before putting both hands back on the wheel.

“Night duty?” She asked, closing the book and walked over to the other stood.

“Not really.” Capitan Tacitus rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, her cheeks dusted red. “I know I’m not gonna be sleeping tonight, so I figured I might as well be doing something productive.”

“Smart.” Kyleigh remarked, sitting on the railing and reopening her book.

They both fell silent, Kyleigh reading her book and Captain Tacitus steering while keeping an eye on the constellation she was following. Kyleigh frowned at the end of the pages, cursing at herself for starting the book in the morning instead of later in the day.

She set the book down.

Looking up, she traced out familiar shapes in the sky.

Yacem and Haras.

            _The twin raven-winged goddesses of Death._

The Owl.

            _The messenger of the Gods._

Jara.

            _The demigod son of the falcon-winged god of the Sun._

Even Aleista.

            _The heroine who’s arrows never strayed from the target_

Kyleigh stole another look at Captain Tacitus.

“What constellations do you see?”

“A Syreni, swimming in the southern sky. An archer, the tip of her arrow always pointing north. A rook with his doubled wings in the west, flying eastward to his nest. A dire wolf in the east, his snout pointing toward his northward home. And finally, a flower in between the rook and the Syreni, it’s petals falling towards the horizon.” The captain answered, drawing out each symbol with her finger.

Kyleigh watched in silence, adding them to her itinerary.

“Do they have stories?” She asked after a moment of silence.

“Yes. The Syreni was supposedly separated from her family when she was young, desperate to get home she swam fast. Faster than she was told to swim. She made ripples across the entire sea, but when she reached her home lands she was swimming too fast. She swam straight off the edge of the world, becoming one with the night sky. No matter how fast she swam or how hard she raced across the sky, she couldn’t leave the night sky. So, she decided to watch over her family in the southern edge of the night sky, forever swimming by herself due to her impatience.

“The archer was a maiden well sought after by suiters, but she never planned on marriage. Gifted with a bow from the Moon herself, she became a hunter. The Sun grew jealous of the archer’s skill, so he tricked her. Disguising himself as a mortal man, he raped her, taking her virginity. Disgusted with herself, she pleaded with the Moon to do something. Feeling pity, she turned the archer into a constellation, far from the Sun’s journey from the east to the west. The archer now runs freely across the sky, shooting arrows towards the north to prevent honest sailors from being lost.

“Now, rook birds are known across Alaria as omens, but they’re neither omens of death nor good fortune. Rather, they warn of something big about to happen, whether it’s good or bad. Although, this rook bird loved tricking unfortunates into believing something bad was gonna happen. He misused the magic given to them by the Angels. After tricking a young girl into falling to her death, he was punished by being forced to help people. He tried to get out of it by helping them then leaving them to get themselves killed, but while trying to trick another human to sail off the edge of the world, he flew too high. The sun burned his wings and instead, he himself fell off the edge. Now he guards the west, trying to prevent others from falling like he did.

“While the rook was a trickster, dire wolves were known for their viciousness and cunning. This dire wolf, however, was known for cruelly tricking his victims before killing them even if he didn’t eat them. Nature reached out to him, trying to convince him that killing and tricking people was not what dire wolves were. After he ignored her, Nature grew mad at the prideful wolf and tricked him as cruelly as he would do to his victim. She trapped him in barbs and left humans to find the dire wolf, they captured the wolf selling him in market from thousands of gold pieces. For ignoring the deity, he found himself far from his home. Taking pity on him, the Moon brought him into the sky, turning the wolf into a constellation and while the Moon may have rescued him. He was stuck in the eastern sky, far from his northern home.

“And finally, the flower. There was a druid girl who was captured by traders, the only belonging on her being a small Autumn Crocus seed. She was sold in Zekra to a plantation in Callus because she was a druid. In secret, she planted the Autumn Crocus among the fields of vegetation. Using her powers, she made the poisonous flower grow faster than normal eventually harvesting before the full moon. A few nights later, she used the poison from the flower to kill the slavers watching over her and the others. They all escaped, heading back to their homes. Thanking the Autumn Crocus’ poison, the druid girl threw a seed into the sky. Using her powers, she made the flower grow in the night sky, blooming in between the Rook and the Syreni.”

Kyleigh mulled in silence as Captain Tacitus finished the stories, looking to each constellation as its story was told.

“You’d make a great Storyteller.” She remarked, smiling in the light lanterns.

“Nah, I just know hem really well because I use to always ask Jay to-” she cut herself when she realized what she was talking about. “Uh, I just known them because I was told their stories a lot.”

“That’d still make you a good storyteller.” Kyleigh stated into the quiet, ending the tension as Captain Tacitus shot her a small smile.

 

**~Sky Tacitus~**

 

Chewing on a coffee bean, Kyleigh helped her anchor at port while Sky guided the Maniac to the small port.

By the location of the moon, she estimated it to be near high rise where the glowing globe reached its highest peak in the night sky.

“Alright, I should be back by sunset or a little earlier.” The captain told Kyleigh, putting a messenger’s bag around her shoulders. “Tell Ember that she’s in charge and please watch over my ship for me, she’s all I got left.”

With that, Sky walked down the gangplank while waving goodbye.

She didn’t see Kyleigh’s slight wave back.

The Island of Sik in the Sakith Isles was moderate size, more known for its trading and vegetation rather than its tourist attractions.

That was why Lowell decided to move here with his younger brother, Mason.

It was safe in its obscureness.

At least, that’s what he told her when he left the Maniac.

_“I’m leaving.”_

_First it was shock._

_Then it was, ‘what did I do wrong?’_

_“I’m taking Mason and we’re going to the Island of Sik.”_

_“Why not stay here?”_

_“It’s not safe enough for him.”_

The dirt path was easy to see in the moonlight; the various vegetation surrounding it was thick and hard to see through. She knew that the wildlife her wouldn’t bother her unless she bothered them.

The village was just settling down for the night when she walked through.

People watched as she walked through.

They weren’t known for their greed either, so the captain was safe from anyone being overly annoying trying to get a few coins.

“If I remember correctly.” She mumbled to herself, walking down a hidden stone path to the left. “This was the right way.”

She saw a few curious eyes in the forest, even a few pixies who hid their glow among the leaves.

The stone path trailed through the forest, little pumki plants lining the edge and began to glow softly in the night light.

Sky smiled, kneeling to mess with one of the pumki leaves that surrounded the glowing bulb. Each plant lit up in a yellowish orange color.

The legend surrounding the plant was actually kind of cool, Jay told it to her once when they were visiting the Sakith Isles with Captain Lazar.

She could hear his voice.

_“There was a young druid girl who loved playing in the day, but always stayed inside during the night because she was so afraid of what was out there. Though, one day her mother asked her to travel through the forest and go to town to get some fresh meat. It was a couple days trip, if she moved diligently._

_“The young druid agreed and set out. She stuck to the path the creatures set her on when she asked them. Though, by the time the night fell, she got too scared to go further and lost time. The next day was the same thing. It took her almost a week to get to the market._

_“On her way back, her animal friends got sick of her horror of the night and showed her the wonder of the darkness. She made lots of friends with night-time animals and found lots of new plants. That’s where she found the pumki plant. Seeing it, she fashioned herself a lantern to guide her through the night._

_“Her mother was very worried by the time she got back to the house, but the young girl told her mom everything she had learned and seen. But that night, the young girl harvested the seeds from her lantern and grew a whole new area in her personal garden, an area where plants that grew in the moonlight had a place to themselves.”_

Jay loved telling stories and made sure that her told her all of them.

The cabin Lowell had built was modest and probably only took him a few months rather than a year or two. It stood near a cliff and was situated where it’s front pointed towards the east, looking off the cliff.

Various plants surrounded the cabin, most of them were gathered in front.

She looked around with a childish smile on her face, Ajara would’ve loved to see this.

She looked down.

Willing herself to be calm.

_“Ajara this isn’t funny. Open your eyes.”_

_Her neck was snapped._

_Sky’s saber lay on the ground near them._

_The man’s own broken body was ignored._

She looked up, wiping her cheek she noticed the wetness on her finger. She closed her eyes, mentally putting herself back together.

Stop being so weak.

Sky sighed, letting her shoulders drop as she continued on to the front door.

Taking one more deep breathe, giving various reason on why she _shouldn’t_ do this.

He probably has his own life by now.

He _walked away_ from this life.

He wanted no part in this.

She could probably get a new manifest in a month or two.

_But we don’t have that long._

_This is the fastest way._

But.

Is it the right way?

She knocked on the door, shuffling backwards as she waited.

There was some shuffling noises and a clank as something was set down.

She should go.

She shouldn’t have knocked.

He had his own life!

The door opened.

A man with messy hair stood there.

He wasn’t Lowell.

The man smiled brightly, his bright red hair tied in a messy braid.

“Hello.”

Sky cleared her throat, “I’m Captain Sky Tacitus of The Maniac.”

She paused.

Come on, she could do it.

“I’m looking for Lowell Hoffmann.”

The man’s lips turned downward, his face turning serious.

“Come in.”


End file.
